 Preserving Our Heritage: An Update on the Airport Weather House We’re excited to share the formation of our new airport board, a significant step forward in overseeing the development and preservation of our beloved airport. However, as we look to the future, we also face challenges rooted in our history. One such challenge is the condition of the 95-year-old weather house, an iconic structure that has weathered Wyoming’s harsh climate for nearly a century. A Weathered PastThe weather house has stood as a testament to the resilience and history of aviation in our region. Unfortunately, the relentless winter elements have taken a severe toll on the structure. The roof, which is central to maintaining the integrity of the building, is in dire need of replacement. Years of exposure to wet and freezing conditions have left the frame vulnerable, with parts of the structure now exposed to further damage. Keeping the Originality IntactOur goal is to restore the weather house while preserving its original character and historical significance. We aim to honor its legacy by maintaining the design and materials that have defined its unique charm for decades. However, achieving this requires immediate action and resources. Funding the RestorationWithout state or federal funding, the burden falls on us to ensure the weather house does not deteriorate beyond repair. To address this, we are launching a private fundraising initiative to gather the necessary funds for the roof replacement. Every contribution brings us closer to preserving this vital piece of our aviation history. How You Can HelpYou can support the restoration of the weather house by purchasing official Airmail Aviator merchandise from our store. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go directly toward funding the new roof and safeguarding this historic structure for generations to come. Together, we can ensure that the weather house continues to stand strong, a symbol of our community’s commitment to honoring the past while building toward the future. Your support means the world to us and the legacy we’re working to preserve. Thank you for being a part of this important mission. Let’s keep our history alive!  
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 With air travel a regular part of daily life in North America, we tend to take the infrastructure that makes it possible for granted. However, the systems, regulations, and technologies of civil aviation are in fact the product of decades of experimentation and political negotiation, much of it connected to the development of the airmail as the first commercially sustainable use of airplanes. From the lighted airways of the 1920s through the radio navigation system in place by the time of World War II, this book explores the conceptualization and ultimate construction of the initial US airways systems.The daring exploits of the earliest airmail pilots are well documented, but the underlying story of just how brick-and-mortar construction, radio research and improvement, chart and map preparation, and other less glamorous aspects of aviation contributed to the system we have today has been understudied. Flying the Beam traces the development of aeronautical navigation of the US airmail airways from 1917 to 1941. Chronologically organized, the book draws on period documents, pilot memoirs, and firsthand investigation of surviving material remains in the landscape to trace the development of the system. The author shows how visual cross-country navigation, only possible in good weather, was developed into all-weather "blind flying." The daytime techniques of "following railroads and rivers" were supplemented by a series of lighted beacons (later replaced by radio towers) crisscrossing the country to allow nighttime transit of long-distance routes, such as the one between New York and San Francisco. Although today's airway system extends far beyond the continental US and is based on digital technologies, the way pilots navigate from place to place basically uses the same infrastructure and procedures that were pioneered almost a century earlier. While navigational electronics have changed greatly over the years, actually "flying the beam" has changed very little.
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